1870

The ratification of the 15th Amendment in 1870, completing the trio of Reconstruction Amendments, legally abolished slavery, established birthright citizenship and equal protection, and guaranteed Black men the right to vote. These three amendments fundamentally transformed the constitutional order and remain the legal foundation for civil rights.

The 15th Amendment to the Constitution — prohibiting denial of the vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude — is ratified. Black communities across the South celebrated with parades and church services. Within months, Black voters had elected dozens of Black officials to local, state, and federal offices across the former Confederacy.

AME minister Hiram Revels of Mississippi is sworn into the U.S. Senate, occupying the seat once held by Jefferson Davis. Born free in North Carolina, Revels had organized Black Union regiments during the Civil War. His election by the Mississippi legislature broke the color barrier in the upper chamber of Congress.

Joseph Rainey of South Carolina, born enslaved, is sworn into the House of Representatives, becoming the first Black man to serve in that chamber. A skilled orator, he served five terms and forcefully advocated for the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 and civil rights protections for Black Southerners.

Joseph Rainey of South Carolina became the first Black man seated in the House of Representatives in December 1870, joined by several others during Reconstruction including Jefferson Long and Robert Brown Elliott. This cohort represented the first substantial Black presence in Congress.

Hiram Revels of Mississippi was sworn in as the first African American to serve in the United States Senate, filling the seat once held by Jefferson Davis. His election by the Mississippi state legislature marked a defining moment of Reconstruction-era Black political power.

Joseph Hayne Rainey of South Carolina was sworn in December 12, 1870, as the first Black man to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. Formerly enslaved, he had escaped to Bermuda during the war. He served five terms, advocated for the Civil Rights Act of 1875, and became the first Black man to preside over the House as Speaker pro tempore.

Joseph Hayne Rainey of South Carolina was sworn in on December 12, 1870 as the first African American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives. A former enslaved man who had served the Confederate Navy before escaping to the Bahamas, Rainey served five terms and became a forceful advocate for civil rights legislation and the enforcement of Reconstruction amendments.

Joseph Hayne Rainey of South Carolina was seated in the House of Representatives on December 12, 1870, becoming the first African American to serve in the U.S. House. Formerly enslaved, he served four terms and was a powerful advocate for civil rights legislation and the enforcement of the 14th Amendment.

Between 1870 and 1898, eighteen Buffalo Soldiers of the 9th and 10th Cavalry and the 24th and 25th Infantry receive the Medal of Honor for extraordinary valor in frontier service. Recipients include Sergeant Emanuel Stance (1870), the first Black Medal of Honor recipient since the Civil War, honored for repelling raids and rescuing captives near Fort McKavett, Texas.

The Fifteenth Amendment prohibited denying the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude. Black communities celebrated with parades in cities across the North and South. Frederick Douglass called it "the most important event that has occurred since the nation came into existence." The amendment's reach was immediately contested: Southern states deployed poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses, and terrorism to nullify it in practice.

Sergeant Emanuel Stance of the 9th Cavalry receives the Medal of Honor for repelling raids and rescuing captives near Fort McKavett, Texas — the first Black Medal of Honor recipient since the Civil War. Between 1870 and 1898, eighteen Buffalo Soldiers total would receive the Medal of Honor for extraordinary frontier service.